Help with choosing COTM submission.

**stephen02ws6** · 10-12-2009, 03:15 PM

I want to submit a picture of my car for the COTM poll, but i dont know which one would be best to submit. Can you guys give me your opinion on which picture i should submit. If they arent COTM material can you give me some suggestions on what i can do to get pictures that are worthy of it.
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

**stephen02ws6** · 10-13-2009, 08:21 PM

does anyone have any suggestions on taking some better pictures?

**tatertot91** · 10-13-2009, 08:36 PM

2-4 are too dark imo
5 could be zoomed out a bit, car barely fits in the picture
i chose 1 because the angle makes the car look lower and the lighting looks the best. Very clean car btw

**35th-ANV-SS** · 10-13-2009, 09:17 PM

Originally Posted by tatertot91

2-4 are too dark imo
5 could be zoomed out a bit, car barely fits in the picture
i chose 1 because the angle makes the car look lower and the lighting looks the best. Very clean car btw

**stephen02ws6** · 10-14-2009, 09:00 AM

thanks. Do you think it has potential to be COTM sometime?

**pajeff02** · 10-14-2009, 09:05 AM

A couple of the pics are way too dark. Shoot with the sun on the picture side of the car unless you are looking for a shadow effect. Always be aware of what is in the background, it can make a good picture bad in a hurry. Make the car your picture, leaving some room in case you need to reframe it later on your computer. Also, try pics from different heights rather than just eye level -- like you did in the last pic, as it can make for a more interesting shot.

**stephen02ws6** · 10-14-2009, 09:15 AM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

A couple of the pics are way too dark. Shoot with the sun on the picture side of the car unless you are looking for a shadow effect. Always be aware of what is in the background, it can make a good picture bad in a hurry. Make the car your picture, leaving some room in case you need to reframe it later on your computer. Also, try pics from different heights rather than just eye level -- like you did in the last pic, as it can make for a more interesting shot.

ya know those couple are too dark, just put them in here for hell of it. when you say "sun on the picture side", what exactly do you mean? are you saying at my back or in front of me? thanks for the tips.

**98T/Aformula.** · 10-14-2009, 09:46 AM

I like #9 the best........

**pajeff02** · 10-14-2009, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by stephen02ws6

ya know those couple are too dark, just put them in here for hell of it. when you say "sun on the picture side", what exactly do you mean? are you saying at my back or in front of me? thanks for the tips.

The sun at your back. Just watch for bright spots and reflections in the picture as you move the camera -- again, this can be done for effect.

**346ci** · 10-15-2009, 12:21 AM

#1 is awesome, I like the angle

Zweeet · 10-16-2009, 05:51 PM

Part of the problem with those pics is what fotogs call white balance. If you have a lot of sky or snow or water in the4 background it'll wash out the foreground. So keep your backgrounds dark. Use buildings, or trees, or a grassy field. Then like the others said, put your light source behind you wether its sun or streetlights.

**pajeff02** · 10-16-2009, 05:58 PM

Originally Posted by Zweeet

Part of the problem with those pics is what fotogs call white balance. If you have a lot of sky or snow or water in the4 background it'll wash out the foreground. So keep your backgrounds dark. Use buildings, or trees, or a grassy field. Then like the others said, put your light source behind you wether its sun or streetlights.

You can also re-frame your picture once it is uploaded to your computer. Sometimes you end up with a whole different look just by moving the borders around. Remember to maintain your width to height ratio for it to look ok.

**stephen02ws6** · 10-17-2009, 04:48 AM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

You can also re-frame your picture once it is uploaded to your computer. Sometimes you end up with a whole different look just by moving the borders around. Remember to maintain your width to height ratio for it to look ok.

ok what width to height ratio looks best?

**blackSS01** · 10-17-2009, 05:01 AM

I like the first pic the best. Good angle and car fits nicely.

**pajeff02** · 10-17-2009, 05:03 AM

Originally Posted by stephen02ws6

ok what width to height ratio looks best?

By that, I just mean to maintain a reasonable size relationship between the height and width of the picture. I think a standard print picture is 3" x 5, so that would be a good ratio to go by. People are simply accustomed to seeing pictures displayed in that manner. Again, do whatever looks best and remember that using something completely different can be done for effect.

**blackSS01** · 10-17-2009, 06:15 AM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

By that, I just mean to maintain a reasonable size relationship between the height and width of the picture. I think a standard print picture is 3" x 5, so that would be a good ratio to go by. People are simply accustomed to seeing pictures displayed in that manner. Again, do whatever looks best and remember that using something completely different can be done for effect.

+1

**stephen02ws6** · 10-17-2009, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

By that, I just mean to maintain a reasonable size relationship between the height and width of the picture. I think a standard print picture is 3" x 5, so that would be a good ratio to go by. People are simply accustomed to seeing pictures displayed in that manner. Again, do whatever looks best and remember that using something completely different can be done for effect.

ok that makes sense. thanks for the pointers. hopefully i can get some good pictures sometime now.

**pajeff02** · 10-17-2009, 07:48 AM

Originally Posted by stephen02ws6

ok that makes sense. thanks for the pointers. hopefully i can get some good pictures sometime now.

Best thing about the digital cameras is that bad pictures can be erased with the touch of a button. I used to really stress over taking perfect pictures with my print camera as mistakes were a waste of film.

**stephen02ws6** · 10-17-2009, 07:52 AM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

Best thing about the digital cameras is that bad pictures can be erased with the touch of a button. I used to really stress over taking perfect pictures with my print camera as mistakes were a waste of film.

ya thats true. sometimes the picture looks better on the computer than on the camera screen so its hard to tell while out taking the pictures.

**35th-ANV-SS** · 10-17-2009, 08:01 AM

I don't know what type of camera you have, but on my digital SLR, there are numerous functions you can play around with for different effects.

I usually take pictures in frames at different exposure rates, use the flash, don't use the flash, different angles, different aperture settings, etc.

Don't be afraid to try new things. I usually take pictures until my card fills up, which could be in the range of 100-200 pictures. Also, make sure you are taking pictures at the highest quality setting on the camera. Mine has RAW, which gives the user the most options for changing the picture with software (ex. photoshop). You can always go through and delete the ones you don't like at home.

The key is, the more pictures you take, the better chance you have of getting that perfect shot that has good lighting, and good quality.

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